This year's Miss America winner has brushed off racist abuse on Twitter and jealousy from other contestants to become the first Indian-American to win the contest in its 92-year history.

Nina Davuluri, 24, was crowned on Sunday evening as Miss America on the nationally televised pageant, which returned home this year to Atlantic City.

The Indian-American beauty overcame accusations that she bad-mouthed others entrant to win the contest. And within minutes of winning, she then faced racist comments on Twitter, some of which have already been pulled down.

But Miss Davuluri
has shrugged off the hateful comments and was pictured celebrating her title as she splashed in the Atlantic Ocean in Atlantic City on Monday morning. In interview after being crowned
Miss America, she said to the criticisms: 'I have to rise above that... I always viewed
myself as first and foremost American,' according to Associated Press.

While
the majority of people online rushed to congratulate the new Miss
America, whose $50,000 prize money will help fund her stated ambition of
attending medical school, racist comments also began to trickle onto
the web.

Miss New York Nina Davuluri, center, reacts after being named Miss America 2014 pageant as Miss California Crystal Lee, left, and Miss America 2013 Mallory Hagan celebrate with her on Sunday evening in Atlantic City, N.J.

Passing on the crown: It has been reported that there is bad blood between Ms Davuluri, front, and Ms Hagan, behind, after the newly crowned miss America allegedly called her predecessor ‘fat as s***’

Meredith Talley (@MeredithRoanell) said: 'This is Miss America... Not Miss Foreign Country.' Her Twitter profile disappeared shortly after her racists tweet, which was shared by numerous people, most were shocked at her comment.

Kat (@KathrynRyan50), who says on her Twitter profile that she is happily in love with her 'savior Jesus Christ', posted: 'Shes (sic) like not even american and she won miss america.' Kat also later deleted her own comment from her profile.

In addition to the fat comment, friends of Ms Davuluri were heard making racist comments, reports the New York Post.

Following the incident, Ms Davuluri apologized for her friends' comments on Facebook, but said she did nothing wrong.

'I want to apologize for the awful statements made by people in my room... There were people who claimed to be my supporters and said things I never agreed with, nor supported,' Ms Davuluri wrote. 'I was never a part of the words or statements that may have been hurtful... I'm sorry if someone said something that was inappropriate.'

A representative for Ms Hagan said that the situation was investigated in July and that there is 'no validity to the story whatsoever.

'Miss New York spoke to Mallory Hagan to let her know there was no validity and to apologize if she was offended in any way,' the rep said.

Speaking on Good Morning America on Monday, Ms Davuluri said that she had called Ms Hagan about the reports and had apologized 'because it was the right thing to do'. After she was awarded the crown, the women hugged.

'She was genuinely excited and happy,' she said of the win. 'I am so thankful for her to be a part of this.'

She added that she was still in disbelief that she had won, and that the whole experience - particularly her Bollywood fusion dance in the talent section - had been emotional.

Miss Kentucky Jenna Day displays her swimsuit during the Miss America 2014 pageant

Miss Connecticut Kaitlyn Tarpey displays her swimsuit

Contestants walk on the runway during Sunday nights event in Atlantic City

'It was the first time Bollywood has
been performed at Miss America,' she said. 'It's such an honor for
myself, my family and my community as well. I just remember performing
my talent and halfway through just crying. It was such an incredible
experience being on that stage... It was so meaningful and powerful.'

Moments
after winning the 2014 Miss America crown on Sunday, Ms Davuluri
described how delighted she was that the nearly century-old pageant sees
beauty and talent of all kinds.

'I'm
so happy this organization has embraced diversity,' she said in her
first press conference after winning the crown in Atlantic City, N.J.'s
Boardwalk Hall. 'I'm thankful there are children watching at home who can finally relate to a new Miss America.'

Her pageant platform was 'celebrating diversity through cultural competency', she said.

The native of Syracuse, New York said she wants to be a doctor, and is applying to medical school, with the help of a $50,000 scholarship she won as part of the pageant title. Her father is also a doctor and Ms Davuluri said she was currently interested in pursuing psychiatry.

After the traditional frolic in the Atlantic City surf Monday morning, she will head to the scene of a devastating boardwalk fire in the New Jersey communities of Seaside park and Seaside Heights on Monday afternoon.

The pageant had pitted 53 contestants -
one from each state, plus the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the
U.S. Virgin Islands - in swimsuit, evening gown, talent and interview
competitions.

‘This is where
we belong,’ said Sam Haskell, CEO of the Miss America Organization.
‘This is the home of Miss America, and this is where we're going to
stay.’

Much attention had
been given to Miss Kansas, Theresa Vail, who is believed to be the first
Miss America contestant to openly display tattoos. She has the Serenity
Prayer on her rib cage and a military insignia on the back of a
shoulder.

While other
contestants wore glamorous costumes and elaborately decorated footwear
during Saturday night's ‘show-us-your-shoes’ parade on the Boardwalk,
Vail wore camouflage gear and Army boots.

In
a Twitter message Sunday, Vail wrote: ‘Win or not tonight, I have
accomplished what I set out to do. I have empowered women. I have opened
eyes.’

Vail made it to the Top 10 and won a nationwide voters' choice award propelling her into the semi-finals.

Another noteworthy contestant was Miss Florida, Myrrhanda Jones, who made it into the top 5 while wearing a bejeweled knee brace. She tore ligaments in her knee while rehearsing her baton twirling routine on Thursday. Sunday night, she performed the routine flawlessly.

After a six-year stint in Las Vegas, the pageant has moved back to Atlantic City

Mallory Hagan, whose tenure was cut
short when the pageant moved back to Atlantic City after a six-year
stint in Las Vegas, where winners were chosen in January.

Ms
Hagan, who had only been Miss America since January, was photographed
on a beach in Hawaii this past spring having put on a few pounds since
being crowned the winner in Las Vegas.

She
addressed her weight gain on Anderson Cooper Live saying: 'Well you
know I think that I am human I like to equate getting ready for the Miss
America pageant to getting ready for a boxing match. We get in shape
and then afterwords life goes back to normal.'

She stressed that being healthy is all about balance.

'It's
all about being healthy, we're all about living a healthy lifestyle.
Some days you want to eat potatoes and some days you don't.'

Newly crowned Ms Davuluri wasn't always as svelte as she looked in last Tuesday's swimsuit competition.

The Central New Yorker told the Syracuse Post-Standard that she was 60 pounds heavier during her final semesters at the University of Michigan and struggled with bulimia.

Miss New Hampshire Samantha Russo dances while walking with other contestant, left, contestants walk on the runway during the pageant, right

Miss America pageant alumni Miss South Dakota Calista Kirby, left, and Miss Rhode Island Kelsey Fournier take a photograph of themselves with a phone before the Miss America 2014 pageant

Last year's winner Mallory Hagen was crowned in January, left, but was photographed on a beach in Hawaii this past spring having put on a few pounds since being crowned the winner in Las Vegas

One day she looked at a picture of
herself and finally realized just how much weight she had put on. She
thought to herself: 'This is not who I want to be, and it is not the way
I want to portray myself to the world.'

So upon entering the beauty pageant world, she got a personal trainer and started eating healthy.

She said she doesn't give out her weight, fearing that other women would try to make that their goal.

However, she says her current weight is hardly what she'd define as 'skinny'.

Both
Ms Hagan and Ms Davuluri have competed in past Miss New York
competitions together. Ms Davuluri was second runner-up the year that
Miss Hagan was crowned Miss New York and went on to win Miss America.

The pageant started in Atlantic City as a way to extend the summer tourism season for an extra weekend.